NHL rookie camps are different this year. Here’s why

For those who work in the NHL, rookie camp is among the most exciting parts of the summer.

It’s not that people particularly look forward to sitting in cold rinks, watching a bunch of 20-something-year-old NHL hopefuls practice. It’s not that they’re keen on watching said rookies play other teams’ young guns on a glorified LiveBarn feed.

It’s that it marks the beginning of the new season. In other words, rookie camp marks the end of the summer — and the beginning of the grind.

Immediately after it ends, training camp begins. Soon, teams are playing preseason games, after which the regular-season grind begins. If your team is lucky, there’s playoff hockey after that. There’s hardly a moment to rest, and that’s exactly how they like it.

But rookie camp is different this year.

The league’s new collective bargaining agreement kicks in this season, changing a number of aspects of NHL hockey. One of them is the length and structure of training camp and the preseason.

In previous years, training camp was close to a month long. Now, it’s limited to 13 days. Fitness testing was a major part of it, but that’s no longer permitted.

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“I think my first camp, I think it was like 40 days or something ridiculous like that,” said Utah Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong ahead of his team’s rookie camp Friday afternoon. “Like, it just went on forever. But nowadays, it it happens quick, and I think you get better.”

Most significantly for the rookies, the amount of preseason games was cut from the previously allowable 6-8 to a firm four for every team. In other words, there are fewer opportunities for young guys to prove themselves.

This year’s rookie camp will serve as a makeshift preseason for those hoping to make teams. For the Mammoth, Russian young guns Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But are hoping to get game-ready at rookie camp. They played 28 and 29 games, respectively, in the NHL last season. Neither one seemed to get a full handle on the offensive side of the game at the highest level, but both were close to a point per game at the AHL level (even Simashev, the defenseman).

“(I’m) feeling more comfortable than last year,” Simashev told the media after practice on Friday. “I put (in) the work this summer a lot. My main goal (is) just make the team.”

With the on-ice absence of Tij Iginla and Caleb Desnoyers, as well as the presence of eight Russians and Belarusians at camp, Simashev and But have an opportunity to serve as leaders. That said, they don’t hold themselves on a pedestal as the only ones at camp with NHL experience.

“I’m not an NHL player yet. I’m still a rookie, too. I just did it last year,” Simashev said. “I had experience in Russia. I know how to play like a pro, so I just want to help them to feel more, like, comfortable in the team.”

The Mammoth prospects are competing in the San Jose Sharks’ rookie tournament this year. The games will be streamed for free on the Sharks’ website. The schedule is as follows, with all times listed in MT:

• Saturday, 4 p.m. MDT vs. Vegas Golden Knights
• Sunday, 6 p.m. MDT vs. San Jose Sharks
• Tuesday, 2 p.m. MDT vs. Los Angeles Kings